CAACs have also allowed the isolation of bis(copper)acetylide complexes,[13] which are key catalytic intermediates in the famous "Click Reaction", and which were supposed to be only transient species.
[14][15] These recent developments appear paradoxical since they consist in using carbenes long considered as prototypic reactive intermediates to isolate otherwise unstable molecules.
For example, in collaboration with Grubbs, Guy Bertrand has shown that ruthenium catalysts bearing a CAAC are extremely active in the ethenolysis of methyl oleate.
Today, hundreds of academic and industrial groups use Guy Bertrand's CAACs and other carbenes in transition metal catalysis,[17] but also for other purposes.
The most recent developments cover a wide range from nanoparticle stabilization to the antibacterial and anti-cancer properties of silver (I) and gold (I) complexes.
[21] He showed that the first can be used to transfer a nitrogen atom to organic fragments, a difficult task for nitrido complexes of transition metals.
[26] He was recently awarded the Sir Ronald Nyholm Medal from the SRC (2009), the Grand Prix Le Bel from the French Chemical Society (2010), the ACS Prize in Inorganic Chemistry (2014), the Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Prize from the SRC (2016) and the Sacconi Medal from the Italian Chemical Society (2017).